Pain
by ValentineRose28
Summary: NO WINGS-Max's life sucks, she homeless and her mom died when she was 13. she ran away from an orphange. she's been living on the streets of New York City for a year. She cuts...alot. Then she meets Fang, and things start looking up. Full summary inside!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE!**

**A/N NEW STORY! WOO HOO!**

**Okay, so this one's about Max. Her life, well, it sucks. Very badly. She's been homeless ever since she ran away from her foster home. But she still goes to school, because she promised her mom she would. Her mom died when she was 13, and her dad abused her until she was 14. Then, someone found out, told the police, and had him taken away (Full story in flashback below). She has been in foster home after foster home since then, and now she's 16. She ran away when she was 15. PLEASE, READ ON! Oh, and Flashbacks are in bold, because when I use italics, it underlines the whole thing for some reason, weird. This story is sort of like a play off this other book called Willow. I really liked it, so I decided to use some of it for this story. Hope you like it.**

**Pain**

**CHAPTER 1**

***FLASHBACK***

**3 years ago**

"**Momma, Momma please don't go! I love you, please don't leave me!" I begged, sobbing into her bed. She has terminal cancer. She was fading, fast. I started praying under my breath. Never stopping, just a never-ending string of prayers. I gripped my Momma's hand tightly with both of mine.**

"**Baby, you know I don't want to leave you. I'm in pain. don't you want me to feel better? It's my time to go. I love you, more than you could ever know. I'll see you again some day." she held onto my hand with the little energy she had left. I watched the light fade from her dark brown eyes. I sobbed into her chest. She wanted to die at home, so she stopped the chemo and everything about a month ago. They had to drag me away from her cold body about 30 minutes later. **

**That was the day I stopped believing in God.**

**That was also the day a razor blade became my best friend.**

**-~-LINE-~-**

**2 years ago**

**I heard the sirens. I started running for the door, my father staggering drunkenly behind me. I cried out in pain when I felt the beer bottle shatter against the back of my skull. I went down onto my knees, struggling to stay upright. He shoved me down and kicked me in the ribs, once, twice, three times. Until, finally, the front door burst open. The police grabbed him by both arms and dragged him out of the house and into a police cruiser. **

**The paramedics bent down and started tending to me. One of them, a girl, whispered to me.**

"**It's okay, baby, no one can hurt you anymore. You're gonna be okay." I smiled brokenly at her, then gave into the sweet, numb darkness that had been probing at the edges of my mind ever since he hit me with the glass beer bottle. **

**-~-LINE-~-**

**1 year ago**

**I grabbed my ratty backpack that I had gotten from good will, shoved it full of clothes, my toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and a couple of razor blades.**

**They weren't for shaving, I can tell you that.**

**I quietly unlatched my window, slid it open, and threw my stuff out of it into the bushes below. I looked around the room at the sleeping kids. Suckers. I was outta there. I climbed out the window and landed in the bushes with my backpack. I stood up and brushed myself off. I grabbed my back pack and started walking. I was hoping to make it to New York City by morning. (The orphanage was a couple hours away from it…by CAR.) **

**I made it, and slept on a hard wooden bench until about 8:30. I woke up, and started looking for a new life.**

***END FLASHBACKS***

I walked down the wet, dirty street. It was pouring rain, but I didn't care. I just figured, hey, free shower. I sighed, then dodged a huge puddle. I walked for about 10 minutes, then came to a stop by a little 24-hour convenience store.

I walked in and started looking through the aisles. I picked up deodorant, toothpaste, tampons, and razor blades. I checked my bag: I was running pretty low on first aid stuff, so I grabbed some triple anti-biotic ointment, gauze and gauze tape. I went ahead and got some regular band aids too, for every day use. I piled all of my stuff onto the counter.

"Someone need first aid?" asked the guy at the check out counter. His feather-light touch ghosted over my stuff. His sightless eyes freakily landed right on my face.**(Can anyone guess who it is?)** Him and I always had this conversation.

"No, my mom just likes to be prepared." I answered lightly. He smiled and I smiled back, lifting his fingers to my face so he would know. If it were anyone else, I would tell them to mind their own business, but this guys was cool. He was here every Friday night, when I bought my supplies.

"Thanks, come again." he said knowingly, handing me my bag.

"Thanks, Iggy. See you next Friday?" I asked.

"Of course." he answered. **(Before you ask, no, there is no Miggy in this fic. They're just friends. They go to the same high school.) **

"Ok, bye." I called over my shoulder. I shoved the door open and walked out into the street. It wasn't cold enough for snow, but it would be soon, being New York City and all. It was September. I found a fast food restaurant, and went inside. I knew I probably looked like crap. I was totally the picture of a homeless person: faded, torn jeans, light red long sleeved worn fleece shirt, thin hoodie, good-will leather jacket over the hoodie, green knit fingerless-gloves (they had a flaps to keep my fingers warm), beanie hat, and worn out tennis shoes. I felt a building need to release some of my pain. Thinking about my mom and Iggy was making all of the pain I tried to keep down bubble to the surface.

I walked to the back where the bathroom was at. After making sure there wasn't anyone in the stalls, I pulled my blades out of my bag. I slipped my gloves off and rolled the sleeves of my jacket, hoodie, and shirt up to reveal my forearm. There were several horizontal cuts on it, so I pulled the sleeves down and checked the other arm. There was much more room on that one, so I picked up the blade in my steady hand and pressed it to my arm.

I didn't press hard enough to cut just yet. I took a deep breath and pressed down. I slid the blade across my arm, loving how the line immediately turned red and started dribbling blood. I felt some of the pain leave my system, but it wasn't enough, so I did it again, right below the first one. But deeper this time. I felt my scalp tingle and the room swayed. The emotional pain totally subsided, and I held my arm over the sink and watched it drip. I made no move to stop the bleeding…just watched it run down the drain. Eventually, before I started getting dizzy, I applied pressure to the cuts, and put my blades away. I slathered anti-biotic ointment on them and put a piece of gauze on them. I taped the edges down and rinsed out the sink. I made sure there was no blood anywhere, then picked up my stuff and left the restaurant.

I was making my way to my little bench when I ran smack into someone. My bag flew out of my hand and the contents spilled out everywhere. My bloody blades fell onto the side walk, and some of my gauze fell into a puddle.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry." said the guys who ran into me.

"No it's fine. Really, I can get that!" I yelped as he reached down to get my blades that were closest to him.

"Hey, I use this brand." he said, handing them to me. He hadn't made the connection between the gauze and the bloody blades.

"oh, hey, did you cut yourself?" he asked, looking at my arm. Dammit, I didn't pull my sleeves down!

"Yea, u cut myself" I said, mentally laughing at the irony of it. All of a sudden, I saw something click. He got it.

"So, I'll just take that." I said, ripping the blade out of his hand. The end of it accidentally scraped up my arm, making a long gash.

"Oh, eff, I'm sorry. Here let me help." he said. He pulled out some more of the gauze from my bag, and pulled me under an awning that covered us from the rain. He put the ointment on the gash then wrapped it in gauze. He taped it down, then put my stuff away.

"Thanks." I said. I was waiting for him to call me a freak and walk away.

"So, um, your arm?" he asked uncertainly. I pulled my sleeves down and pulled my gloves up.

"It's nothing. It was an accident." I said assertively. He gently pulled at my arm and rolled my sleeves up. He gasped, then pushed them up higher and higher until you could see all of the marks.

"Did you…did you do this to yourself?" he asked. I pulled my arm out of his reach, and yanked my sleeves down.

"You wouldn't understand." I muttered.

"You're probably right." he answered.

"So, I'll see you in school?" he asked. I nodded, then began to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" he said, running up to me.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" he asked. I opened my mouth to say "yep" but what came out was:

"Um, no."

"Come with me. I can get you help for your arms."

"NO!" you cant tell anyone, please, I beg you." I gasped, holding onto his arm.

"Um, ok, ok, fine. I won't tell. Calm down, it's ok." he said, soothing me. I nodded, and he lead me to his house.

**A/N So, how'd you like it? Tell me, REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE! **

**A/N TIME TO ACKNOWLEGDE MY REVIEWERS!**

**xX-LalA-X- I really don't want it to be a miggy fic because Fang is Iggy's friend and if I put miggy in there it would mess up there friendship? Get what I'm saying? But, if you'd like, I could write a miggy fic for you…after I finish this story of course. PM me about it?**

**Deadly Shadow- YAY! That's exactly what I was aiming for! I do a lot of the most common stories and I'm glad this isn't exactly like everyone else's!**

**BlueSapphire101- She has a job, which shows up in the this chapter.**

**Maxrideaddict97-10- Thanks, and that's really great! I love that you love it!**

**To everyone who said they liked it, YAYAYAYAY!**

**And to everyone else who asked me update, HERE YOU GO!**

**And, P.S., I know Max's hair is brown. And I know her eyes are brown. But I just love this picture I have in my head of her with blond hair and purple eyes. Sorry…**

**And P.S.S., PLEASE READ PLEASE READ PLEASE READ! I'M TAKING STORY REQUESTS! IF THERE'S A STORY IDEA YOU HAVE THAT YOU WANT ME TO WRITE, PM ME, EMAIL ME, OR LEAVE IT IN YOUR REVIEW AND I WILL WRITE THE STORY AND DEDICATE IT TO YOU! THE ONLY THING I WON'T DO IS M-RATED STUFF! BUT I WILL DO ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT!**

**Pain**

**CHAPTER 2**

**FANG'S POV**

"Hey, mom? I'm going to a friend's house. Be back later." I called to my mom. I heard her yell "ok", and I left. I went to my friend, Iggy's, house and stayed for a couple hours. I eventually left around 6 because he had to work the night shift at some convenience store.

I was walking through this really run-down part of town when I ran into this girl. Like, **literally **ran into her. She had this really dirty looking blond hair and the most amazing eyes. They were the color of amethyst (which is a purple gemstone for those of you who don't know), with swirls of gold and green.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry." I said then bent down to pick up a couple of razor blades that had fallen out of her bag and onto the sidewalk. Huh, that was weird. They were bloody.

"No it's fine. Really, I can get that!" she yelped. I handed them to her before she could finish.

"Hey, I use this brand." I said. That's funny. Why would she have guy's razor blades in her bag? I saw her stuff them and some gauze back into the little bag that hung off of her shoulder. I noticed the same brand of gauze on her arm, but it had two paper thin lines of blood seeping through it.

"Oh, hey, did you cut yourself?" I asked, nodding to her arm.

"Yea, I cut myself." she answered, a serious look on her face. I got the feeling that I was missing out on some inside joke. I thought hard. Bloody razor blades, gauze, two neat little slices on her arm…oh my God. She's a cutter. I could see that she knew I got it now.

"So, I'll just take that." she said, ripping a blade out of my hand that I hadn't given back to her yet. In the process of taking it away, she cut her arm again, a long shallow gash.

"Oh, eff, I'm sorry. Here, let me help." I said, pulling her under an awning and taking more gauze out of her little bag. I looked around in it and found some ointment for cuts and stuff. I put some of it on the new cut then wrapped it in gauze and taped it down. I threw the unused gauze and stuff into her bag.

"Thanks." she muttered. I couldn't look away from her amazing eyes. Then I remembered her arms.

"So, um, your arm?" I asked uncertainly. She self consciously pulled her sleeves down further.

"It's nothing. It was an accident." she said defensively. I wasn't sure if she was taling about the old cuts or the new one. I gently grabbed her arm and rolled her sleeves up. I gasped upon seeing all of the little marks. There must be at least 100! They were all horizontal, very neat and thin. I pushed her sleeves up higher until I could see all of the scars. They started right under her shoulder and ended just below the palm of her hand. I didn't even want to see the other arm.

"Did you do this to yourself?" I asked disbelievingly. She yanked her arm out of my reach and pulled the sleeves back down.

"You wouldn't understand." she muttered, so quietly I could barely hear.

"You're probably right." I answered. She must be in incredible pain to be able to hurt herself like this. I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"So, I'll see you in school?" I asked after a moment of silence. She nodded, and began to walk off in the rain. I couldn't let her go now. I'm pretty sure she was homeless, she sure looked it. Either homeless, or in bad home. Which, if you ask me, is just as bad.

"Hey wait!" I called, running up to her.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" I asked.

"Um, no." she replied. So she was homeless.

"Come with me. I can get you help for your arms." I said. I saw a frightened look on her face.

"NO! You can't tell anyone, please, I beg you." she gasped, holding onto my arm.

"Um, ok, ok, fine. I won't tell. Calm down, it's ok." I soothed her. She really doesn't want anyone to know. She nodded, and I put an arm around her and took her back to my house.

"Mom? I'm home!" I called when I stepped through the front door.

"Oh, whose this?" my mom asked, smiling warmly when she saw the stranger behind me.

"This is…" I just realized I had no clue as to what her name is.

"Max." she supplied.

"Yeah, this is Max." I said. "She doesn't really have a place to stay, so I told her she could crash here tonight. That cool?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. You can stay as long as you need, Max." my mom said, a worried frown on her face.

"Thanks." Max muttered to the ground.

"I'll have dinner ready in half an hour. You probably want to wash up. Fang? Show her where the bathroom is. Do you have a change of clothes?" she asked, her voice full of concern. Max shook her head.

"That's fine. You can borrow my robe and I will wash your clothes." she smiled, then turned to go check on dinner.

"So, um, the bathroom is upstairs. Come on, I'll show you." I said, pulling on her arm. She followed me up the stairs and down the hallway to the 2nd door on the left. I opened it and led her inside.

"Ok, so the towels are in that cabinet. Just turn that knob for hot water, that one for cold. Pull the little thing on top of the faucet to turn the shower part on." I said, pointing.

"Thanks." she said.

"I'll go get the robe. You can go ahead and get in." she nodded, and I headed downstairs to get the robe.

"She ok?" my mom asked, seeing me go into her room.

"Yeah, just a little…troubled. I didn't ask, but I can tell she's been through a lot. I just met her today." I added.

"She seems real sweet, if you could just get her to come out of her shell. I think you should talk to her. Hang out with her at school, make sure people aren't picking on her. You know?" she asked. I nodded, then went to put the robe in the bathroom.

I heard the shower running, so I figured it would be ok to go in and put the robe on the counter. I turned the door knob and pushed the door open, only to find Max standing there in her underwear and bra. She was staring at herself in the mirror. She looked up at me when I came in, but did nothing to cover herself. I closed the door and leaned against it so I wouldn't pass out. There were cuts and scars **everywhere**. On her stomach, thighs, calves, back. I stared at her in horror.

"I know they're ugly But so am I. We're a perfect match." she said, turning back to the mirror. I took a step forward. She met my eyes in the mirror. It should be weird to be standing here with her half dressed, but to tell you the truth I wasn't even thinking about that. I was too distracted by the cuts and scars.

"You're not ugly." I finally whispered. She turned to look at me. She was angry.

"I'm not? I have these marks all over me! How can you say I'm not ugly? These cuts make me ugly. I'm not soft and smooth like other girls. Feel!" she said, grabbing my hands and placing them flat against the dirty skin of her stomach. She was right, the skin there wasn't smooth and soft like it was supposed to be. It was rough and bumpy from all of the horizontal lines. I pulled my hands away, but traced the lines with one finger.

"You're not ugly." I said again, with much more confidence.

"Yes I am." she whispered, her eyes hard.

"You're different. They're just cuts. They'll go away. These little marks don't do anything to this." I said, placing a hand on her dirt-smeared cheek. She pulled away.

"Can you leave so I can shower?" she asked softly. I nodded, then backed out of the room. I closed the door. I leaned against it and slid down into a sitting position. I waited until the I heard the shower curtain slide closed to open the door again, gather up her clothes, and leave the bathroom.

"Mom? I got the clothes. Can you wash them for her?" I asked, handing her the bundle.

"Sure baby. Stir this pot, I'll be right back." She went to the laundry room.

"Wait! Don't wash the leather jacket!" I called after her.

"I know!" she laughed. I stirred the pot until she came back, then went to watch TV. About a half hour later, dinner was ready and Max wasn't done yet.

"Baby. Go check on her please. I need to set the table." My mom called from the kitchen.

I got up and walked upstairs and knocked on the door. The shower was no longer running, so I knocked again, knowing she could hear me. When she still didn't answer, I pushed the door open only to find her sitting on the tiled floor wrapped in the robe, holding her bleeding arm out in front of her. Besides the blood, she looked very clean. Her hair looked ten times lighter now that it wasn't full of dirt and stuff, and I could see that her creamy colored skin was actually flawless besides the scars and one little birthmark on her knee that I didn't notice before.

"Do you need help?" I asked, going to kneel in front of her. She looked almost serene. She looked up at me blankly as if just noticing I was here. Her beautiful eyes were vacant looking, like she was thinking about something that was far, far away from this little bathroom. I gently grabbed her arm and started sopping up the blood with a towel. After the bleeding stopped, I put Neosporin on it and taped some gauze on it.

"Why do you do it?" I asked hesitantly.

"I barely know you, I'm not going to explain my entire life to someone I just met." she answered, pulling her arm out of my grasp.

"Fine. I was just wondering. It's dinner time." I said, dropping the subject and standing up. I reached down to offer her help up and she took it. I pulled her up and let go of her surprisingly small hand. I went downstairs to the kitchen, Max trailing behind me, to find that my Mom was already sitting down. She looked up at us as we entered and smiled a warm smile.

"Did you have a nice shower?" she asked Max.

"Yes, thank you." Max answered politely. We all sat down and started eating. I saw Max trying to eat slow, but you could tell she was starving. I began to wonder if she even ate everyday, because she was so thin. You could see her hip, collar and rib bones pushing against her skin.

"It's really good, Mrs…." Max trailed off, not knowing what to call her.

"White. Ms. White. But please, call me Jenny." she said kindly.

"Ok, it's really good Jenny." she said, then went back to eating. I smiled, happy she was finally getting healthy food and a dry place to sleep.

After dinner, my mom did the dished and put a tray of cookies in the oven, then went to shower and put her pajamas on. I went and put Max's clothes in the dryer, then sat down next to her on the couch.

"You can sleep in my bed tonight. I'll sleep down here." I said, turning the TV on. George Lopez was on.

"No, that's ok." she said hurriedly.

"It's ok, I don't mind."

"If you're sure."

"I am." I looked over and smiled at her. She gave me a small smile in return.

"I'm going to the store for something. I'll be right back." My mom said, walking through the living room picking up her coat, mittens, umbrella, and car keys and running out the door.

"I wonder where she's going?" Max asked, staring at the front door my mom had just stormed through.

"I dunno…she probably ran out of milk or something." I answered, flipping through TV channels. We watched some random shows until my mom came home, carrying a coule of bags from the mall.

"What store did you go to?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, just a couple clothing stores." she placed the bags down on the kitchen counter.

"Max, come look!" she called after a couple seconds. I looked at her and rolled my eyes. We both stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"I got you some new clothes." she said excitedly. I watched Max dig through one of the bags and pull out a couple pairs of jeans that were faded at the knee and dark everywhere else. Next she pulled out three turtle necks with swirls of blue, green, and purple on them.

"You shouldn't have." Max whispered.

"Oh, it's no trouble. Really! Finish opening!" my mom said.

Max moved on to the next bag and pulled out two shoe boxes. One of them held a pair of black converse high top sneakers, and then other one held a pair of black combat boots. I looked inside one bag and saw a brand new gleaming leather jacket. I grabbed it and showed it to Max.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, her eyes glowing. She slipped it on over the robe she was still wearing. It looked like it was made for her.

I pulled a pair of leather fingerless gloves, a knit scarf, and a brand new beanie hat out of another bag.

"Jenny, it's too much. Really…" Max trailed off. There was one last bag left, but it had "Victoria's Secret" printed on it in pink, so I decided to let the girls open that one by themselves.

I grabbed some blankets out of the hall closet and laid them on the couch. Flipping the TV on, I plopped down on my make-shift bed and fell asleep, the last picture in my head being Max's beautiful eyes…


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I UPDATED! My computer cord broke, and then I got awful writer's block : ( but all is well now! This chapter isn't very good, so sorry. It's the best I could come up with…**

**Pain**

**Chapter 3**

Fang's Mom lead me up to Fang's room. It was painted a navy blue color and the bed spread was a dark forest green.

"Ok, well, tomorrow is Saturday, and we don't have anywhere to go, so you can just sleep in. Good night, Max." Jenny said, then surprised me by wrapping me in a hug.

"good night." I said awkwardly, and she left the room. I decided to look around a bit. He had a small flat screen TV on the wall across from his bed, so I turned it on. There was a dresser next to his closet door, and I opened one of the drawers. Socks and…oh thank god. He was a boxers guy. I walked to the closet and opened it. Normal guy clothes. There was an old looking backpack in the corner, and it was empty. I picked it up and transferred all my stuff that was in my tote bag to it. I folded all of my new clothes and shoved them into it. I had no plans of staying here. But…one night in an actual bed couldn't hurt. I laid down and drifted off to sleep…

-~-LINE-~-

I awoke in the middle of the night because of an awful dream. It was about my mother, when she was alive. She, my father, and I had gone on a picnic. It was the best meal I had ever had, but reliving it was horrible. I jumped out of the bed and grabbed a blade, then ran to the bathroom Once there, I locked the door and sat down on a closed toilet seat. I pressed the blade to my wrist and pressed down. I felt my scalp tingle like it always does. I watched with interest as a thin line of blood drip, drip, dripped down my arm. I closed my eyes and saw my mother's warm smile and kind brown eyes, so I pressed down harder. More blood poured down my arm into a forming puddle at my feet. I slid off the toilet onto my knees, then I fell onto my side and didn't move anymore. I blinked and realized I was so very tired. I fell asleep again, my last conscious thought being about the fact that my hair was soaked with my own blood.

-~-LINE-~-

"Max?" I heard a voice yell in my ear. My eyelids fluttered open and I was startled to note that I was staring right in the face of Fang. I sat up quickly and something dripped off my hair and down my shoulders and back. I looked down and saw that it was blood, my blood. All over my new pajamas. Oh well.

"What the hell are you doing in here laying in a puddle of blood? My mom could have walked in at any time and saw you!" Fang hissed. I just shrugged. I didn't have anything to explain to him.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked. I shook my head. "It's 4 o'clock in the morning. Come on, get up. You need to get cleaned up." he reached out and grabbed my arm harshly. I yanked it out of his reach.

"I can get up myself." I hissed, speaking for the first time since he came in. I stood up but swayed. Fang had to catch me before I fell over again.

"Oh, shut up." I said when he smirked. He let me go and I gripped the bathroom counter.

"I just…don't understand. What could make you want to hurt yourself this way?" he asked hesitantly, all smugness gone.

"Leave me alone." I whispered. He opened his mouth to reply, but I whirled around, my expression angry.

"I said leave me alone! You don't know me, you don't know anything about me. What I do is my business, not your's so just _drop it!_" I yelled. He was just trying to help, but I couldn't deal with this right now.

"Sorry." he muttered. I could tell I had hurt his feelings. Good. Maybe now he wouldn't ask anymore questions.

"Can you get out so I can shower?" I asked. He shrugged and left the room. I stripped the bloody nightclothes and stepped into a warm jet of water. I watched the red tinged water leak down the drain. After all the blood was rinsed out of my hair, I turned the water off and stepped out. I bandaged my newest cut and wrapped a towel around my still dripping body. I left the room and went to Fang's bedroom and found him sitting on the bed.

"I stuck the nightgown in the washing machine. I'll make sure to get it out before morning so that my mom doesn't see it. I just wanted to make sure you were ok…" he trailed off, staring intently into my eyes. I grew uncomfortable and shifted my weight onto my other foot.

"I'm fine. Good night." he stood up and left the room. I put on one of my turtle necks and jeans and crawled back into Fang's bed. I laid awake until dawn, then tiptoed downstairs and scribbled a quick note on a napkin.

_Dear Fang and Jenny,_

_I'd like to thank you for letting me sleep in your home and for getting me new clothes. That was pretty amazing of you. I'm afraid I can take advantage of your hospitality no longer. Fang, I took a back pack from your closet. If you want it back I'll be where I was when you first met me on Friday at 5:00 pm. I will only be there for ten minutes, though, so if you are going to come, do it quick. _

_Sincerely, _

_Max _

I opened the front door and slipped out, then walked back to the run down part of town. My little bench was still there, vacant and forlorn looking. I walked over to it and gladly sat down. The sun was almost completely up now. It was cold outside, so I dug around in my new backpack for my gloves, leather jacket, scarf, and beanie hat, then put it all on. After warming up for a bit, I stood and made my way to the fast food restaurant and brushed my teeth and hair in the bathroom, then sat down at a table and did my homework. I have always questioned why my mother wanted me to continue with school, but because she asked me to, I do it anyways.

At 8:00 I packed everything away in my backpack and went to the park. It was boring and uneventful, and afterwards all I did was come back to the restaurant and fall asleep in a booth until the manager woke me up and ran me out.

The entire week went by without drama. I didn't like, bleed out on the side of the road or anything. Friday came, and I waited on the corner to see if Fang would come to get his backpack. At 5:09, he still hadn't shown, so I turned and started to walk away, but heard a loud cry.

"Max! Wait!" I turned and saw Fang running towards me. I turned and waited for him to reach me.

"Here's your backpack." I started to take it off and hand it to him, but he pushed my hand away.

"I don't want the backpack. I just wanted to make sure you weren't…" he trailed off, smartly not finishing his sentence.

"Dead? Is that what you were going to say? Well, I'm alive and…well not necessarily well, but close enough." I turned to walk away again, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face him.

"Wait. Come back to my house. You're going to get sick or mugged or something."

"I've been living on the streets for a year. I think I'm fine! Besides, I don't have anything for them to steal." I snapped, then tried to walk away again. And, again, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do that anymore." I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him, and he dropped my arm like it was on fire.

"I'm sorry. It's just…I don't know." he mutters. I lift an eyebrow at him.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Fine then. Bye." I turn and leave and this time, he lets me go. I don't look back unil I'm at the end of the street. He's watching me go, but when he sees me looking at him, he turns and runs quickly away.

I walked until I got to the 24-hour convenience store and then walked in.

"Hey Ig." I said over the clanging of the bells. His sightless eyes landed on my face.

"Hey Max. What's wrong?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting together in concern.

"Do you know a guy named Fang?" I answered his question with another question.

"Yeah. We hang out all the time." guy-speak for they're best friends. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering." I picked up some more gauze from a shelf because most of mine got soaked last Friday when I dropped it into a puddle. I handed it to Iggy to ring up.

"Here you go. See you later?"

"Yeah. Sure. See you later…"

**A/N OMG IT'S SO AWFUL! I'M SO SORRY! I WILL TRY TO DO BETTER! I PROMISE! THE NEXT CHAPTER IS ALREADY PLANNED OUT!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hey guys! *ducks as rotten tomato is thrown at head* Sorry, sorry! I know it's been a long time and I really don't have an excuse. Again, sorry. I'll just blame George, the reincarnated pink/purple llama. (No recuerdo si era de color morado o rosa Maria Katerina, así que sólo hay que poner los dos. ¿Es usted feliz? Lol.)**

**Pain**

**Chapter 4**

**Fang's POV**

I glanced down at my watch to see that it was already 5 o'clock. Max is waiting under that little awning!

"Shit, Imma be late." I muttered. I ran out the front door and into the downtown area. I pushed through the crowd and splashed through puddles that had been made by yesterdays heavy showers. I got to the awning where I first bandaged her scrape just in time. She had already started walking away.

"Max! Wait!" I yelled and she turned around as I ran over to her.

"Here's your backpack." she made to take it off, but I stopped her.

"I don't want the backpack. I just wanted to make sure you weren't…" I trailed off.

"Dead? Is that what you were going to say? Well, I'm alive and…well not necessarily well, but close enough." she said coldly then tried to walk away again, but I grabbed her skinny arm tightly in my hand and turned her back around to face me.

"Wait, come back to my house. You're going to get sick or mugged or something."

"I've been living on the streets for a year. I think I'm fine! Besides, I don't have anything for them to steal." she snapped. She impatiently pulled her arm away from me and turned to stalk off but, against my better judgment, grabbed her arm again.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do that anymore." she hissed menacingly and I dropped her arm like a hot coal.

"I'm sorry. It's just…I don't know." I mutter. She lifted an eyebrow at me.

"What? What's wrong?" She asks. I just shrug. I got mesmerized by her peculiar eyes. They made me just, completely forget what I was going to say.

"Fine then. Bye." she turns on her heel and storms off but this time, I don't stop her. I watch her until she turns around to glance back at me and then I walk quickly away.

"What happened back there Fang?" I ask myself. I was about to beg her to come back with me and it all just disappeared when I stared into her eyes for too long. Freaky.

Just then, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Baby? It's me," my mom said, "could you get me some soda? I have a terrible caffeine head ache."

"Sure. See you later." I clicked my phone shut and shoved it into my pocket. I guess I should go to the little Walgreen's place Iggy works at, since it's so close.

"Hey man, what's up? Iggy asked when I entered the store.

"Dude, I've had the weirdest week. There's this chick and she's just…God."

"Good or bad 'God'" He asked.

"Complicated. She has a lot of issues man. She's homeless. She's a cutter. She's an orphan. But she's so beautiful too. She has the coolest eyes. They're like purple and green and gold." I said, staring off into space.

"Dude you've got it bad." Iggy laughed.

"Shut up moron. I only just met her. I don't know anything about her." I said defensively.

"Speaking of messed up chicks, there was one in here earlier asking about you."

"Really, who?"

"My friend. She goes to our school. Sounds a lot like the girl you described, except I wouldn't know if she was beautiful or not. Her name's Max. Do you know her?"

"That is the girl I'm talking about!"

"Huh, small world."

"So she was asking about me?" I asked.

"Yeah. She just wanted to know I if knew you," he shrugged.

"Cool. Hey, be right back. I just got to grab a coke for my mom." I walked to the back and grabbed a soda out of the refrigerated section. I heard the door bells jingle and looked up to see Max walking in.

"Hey. Back again so soon?" Iggy asked her.

"Yeah, I just need to grab a bag of chips for dinner real fast." a bag of chips is not dinner. Why won't she just come back to my house so she can eat and sleep in a real bed.

I walked back to the front of the store and set the coke on the checkout counter.

"Does she usually come here?" I whispered.

"Every Friday."

"What does she get?"

"Razors." I stopped breathing for a second.

"Fang? What are you doing here?" Max asked, sounding very unfriendly.

"Getting a soda. Talking with my friends." I nodded at Iggy then at her and smiled. Kill 'em with kindness, that's what my mother always says.

"Hmm," she hummed. Iggy bagged my soda and pushed it across the counter to me. Everything was silent for a few seconds.

"Max, please just come back to my house. My mother said that it really hurt her feelings when you left." I finally just blurted out. It was a lie. My mother thought that Max just had errands to run and would be back sometime tonight.

"No. Iggy, I changed my mind. I'm not hungry after all." she laid the chips on the counter and left Walgreens.

"Shit." I swore.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Iggy asked, lifting both of his eyebrows at me.

"I don't know what came over me. I gotta go man. See you later." I fisted my hand in the plastic grocery sack and walked out into the cool, slightly damp air.

I made my way slowly home and thought about her. Max. What the hell was it about her that made me so flustered? It began to rain so I jogged the rest of the way home.

"Mom? I'm home!" I called out and shook the rain water out of my hair and eyes.

"Babe, not so loud. I have a migraine." My mom said. I handed her the coke and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled weakly at me.

"Go lay down. I can make sandwiches later for dinner." that reminded me once again of Max and how she was going hungry tonight. Which was my fault. If I hadn't tried to make her come home with me, she would have at least had chips to eat.

"Ok. Thanks sweetie." she left and closed the door to her room quietly. I flopped onto the couch and switched the TV on.

I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes, the house was dark. The only light was coming from the TV. I shook my head to try and wake up. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"What the hell?" I muttered. There was no sound from my mother's room, so it must not have woken her up. I stood and ran to the door and flung it open, ready to give whoever was there a piece of my mind.

"Hey," Max said quietly before bursting into tears.

**A/N Sorry it's so short! (It Didn't kill me! You were right Mary Kate, I do hve enough skillz!) The next chapter will be longer because it will explain why she was crying and all that jazz…so yeah! **

**R**

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	5. Chapter 5

**A/N OMG, I'M STILL ALIVE! I KNOW, I WAS SURPRISED TOO!**

**Ok, not really. But seriously you guys, I feel so sorry about not updating since, like, Christmas. I'm horrible, and I wouldn't be surprised if nobody read this just because it's been so long. But please don't give up on me now! I'm sure you all want to find out why Max was crying, right? Right?**

**Ok, ok…I know…I'm a horrible person. I know, I'd like to saw my head off with a toothbrush too. But maybe this chappie will make it all better? or at least, will it get me less death threats?**

**You guys, my readers and reviewers, are pretty damn amazing. Idk why, but I just felt like saying that. **

**Anyways, ON WITH THIS TOTALLY AWESOME CHAPTER THAT TOOK ME *counts on fingers* 5 MONTHS TO WRITE! (I know what you're thinking, "it took her five months to write, like, less than 5 pages?" I know…I'm sorry. I think I'm going to go sob in a corner…or play doodle jump. I love that game…Ok, ok…I know…I'm a horrible person. I haven't updated since Christmas. I know, I'd like to saw my head off with a toothbrush too. But maybe this chappie will make it all better? or at least, will it get me less death threats?**

**p. s.**

**~I had a review about the language in this chapter. I'm sorry, but the language is really part of the story. I guess I could cut back a little bit, to make you happy, but it's not like I'm dropping f-bombs every five minutes. **

**p. s. s. **

**~And sorry about the punctuation. It's not my forte. (Lol, old vocabulary word. I feel smart.)**

**OK, FOR REALS THIS TIME! ON WIT TEH STOREH YO! (i have had way too much sode for 2:53 in the morning...)**

**Pain**

**Chapter 5**

**Max POV**

I left the little Walgreens and walked for about five minutes before I realized that I had forgotten to get something for dinner. Sighing, I turned around and made my way back to the store.

"Hey. Back again so soon?" Iggy asked me with a smile.

"Yeah, I just need to grab a bag of chips for dinner real fast." I replied. I wandered over to the snack section and grabbed a small bag of potato chips, then paid and left.

I don't exactly have a "normal" job. No aspect of my life is normal, so why should my job be? Besides, who in their right mind would hire a homeless 16 year old girl?

So, to make a little bit of money, I sell drugs. Wow, that sounds really bad when you say it like that. But it's what I do. Well, most of the time. I get them from my friend, Jake, and sell them then give him half the money and take the rest for myself. Only tonight, Jake is no where to be found. I'm sitting here outside his apartment and wondering why the hell I put up with his crap all the time. With that thought still in my mind, I leave and start walking away from his apartment.

As I was walking down the street, two big thugs blocked my way. These were Jake's friends, and my usual customers. They always expected me to be in stock, and if I wasn't…well, I was in trouble.

"Hey, Max. Got out stuff?" Jimmy, the much larger and older of the two, asked. Ok, stay cool. You aren't going to get in trouble here. You've done nothing wrong. Just explain that Jake isn't here today, and that he'll have to come back later.

"I don't have it." I replied in a tiny voice, because it was all that I could get out of my mouth. Jimmy's mouth twisted into a hard frown.

"I have people that are expecting that crack tomorrow morning. Do you know how much trouble I'm going to be in in if I don't have it for them?" he snarled, taking an intimidating step towards me.

"Look, I'm sorry! It's not my fault! Jake isn't home, and I have no idea when the hell he'll be back!" I yelled, finding my voice. I seriously hoped this conversation wasn't going where I thought it was. That would be very bad, for me. Jake does this to me sometimes. Just picks up and leaves without letting anyone know where he's going, and leaves me to deal with all his shit while he's gone. I've been cornered by creeps like these before, and I still have some of the scars to show for it.

"Ok, well could you give him a little message from me when you see him?" he asked, a sickly twisted smile lighting up his ugly face. I swallowed hard and gave a sharp, jerky nod. He took another step closer now, so that I had to look up at his tall frame to see his menacing face.

"Tell him I said that he better be here next time, or you'll get a lot worse." he whispered before hauling back his huge fist and letting it sink into my gut. I felt a few freshly scabbed-over cuts split open again. The blood spilled over my stomach and seeped through me shirt. My breath left my lungs with an audible "whoosh", and I fell back onto my ass on the hard concrete.

I looked up at the two of tem in a daze. That was it? That was never it…

Jimmy reached down and yanked me up by my tangled hair and put his face real close to mine. I could smell his rank breath and see the vein pulsing in his forehead. The combination of the two was almost enough to make me gag.

"People are starting to watch. Get in the van, we'll finish this at my place. Don't need the cops coming. Not again." and with that, he promptly pushing me to his buddy, Carlos. He gripped me on my upper arms as gently as he could. He was rarely rough with me like Jimmy, just pretended to be. Some people will do whatever it takes to guarantee safety in his neighborhood, and Carlo's way was hanging out with Jimmy's stupid, violent gang.

We walked (well, they walked. I tripped over my feet) to the van.

"Pick up your damn feet!" Jimmy barked before shoving me, hard, into the van. I fell into the far door and cracked my head and shoulder against the window. That was going to leave a nasty bruise tomorrow…

Jimmy and Carlos rode in the front. The ride was silent and awkward, with me trying to make as little noise as possible (even when I breathed)). I cradled my left arm in my right one, and leaned my forehead on the icy glass of the window.

I should've just gone back with Fang. Then I'd be warm, not hungry, and not in this much trouble. He probably hates me now for being so bitchy to him earlier.

A sudden movement told me we had stopped and ignited a pool of fear in my stomach. I sat up just in time for Jimmy to jerk the sliding door open. HE reached in and grabbed me by my leather jacket and pulled me out. I fell awkwardly to the ground and scrambled to regain my footing, then followed him slowly into the house.

"Guys, here's the reason we have no snow for tomorrow." Jimmy announced as a hell when we entered the house. He grabbed my jacket again and shoved me into a room full of other threatening clones of himself. They were all huge, tattooed, mean-looking thugs.

"What the hell, man?" asked a tan, curly haired man sitting in the corner.

"Hey, she's kind of hot…" slurred another, coming up behind me and stroking my hair.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed and swatted his hand away.

"Ooh, feisty!" he grinned, showing all of his yellowed, crooked teeth. Another one came up and caressed my arm while I was distracted by the other's disgusting teeth. I yelped and jumped away from his touch as if I had been electrocuted.

"Don't touch me!" I shrieked, my voice edging up from "panicked" to "hysterical". I turned and prepared to fight my way out, but Jimmy was there, blocking the door.

"Move!" I demanded (which, when I look back on it, I'm sure I'll realize how stupid this move was…). His had whipped through the air I never saw it coming until it was slapping me across the face and making me see stars. I whirled with the momentum of the blow and fell to my knees.

"Don't talk to me that way, bitch. Not in my own damn house, or anywhere else." he hissed between his teeth.

"Just let me leave!" I wailed, jumping to my feet and taking a step away from him. In response, he pushed me further into the living room full of his buddies that either wanted to kill me or molest me.

Great. Just friggin' wonderful.

The one I swatted away earlier decided he didn't take too kindly to rejection, and tripped me as I was shoved backwards. I went sprawling flat on my back and had the wind knocked out of me. My head cracked painfully on the leg of a side table. Warm liquid oozed through my hair, leaving it matted. When I sat up, I saw that there was a scarlet stain on the dirty beige carpet.

The guys in the room thought this was hysterical and proceeded to roar with laughter. I sucked in air and rose to my feet slowly, fighting to swallow the hard lump that had risen in my throat. Someone pulled my shirt and shoved me into another body. I was pin-balled around the room, being flung from one harsh, drunk man to the next. I was screamed and cursed at, and I even had beer flung upon me. It stung painfully on the cuts and scratches on my face and neck and it seeped into my shirt and stung the newly-opened cuts there, too. I was tripped again and went sailing into a pile of broken beer bottle glass.

"Shit" I whimpered.. I gently lifted my hands up to survey the damage. There were two shards of glass embedded in the soft tissue of my left palm, and one in my right. Other than that, there were only shallow scrapes and miniscule flecks of glass.

"Carlos," I heard Jimmy sneer, "you haven't had any fun yet!" (cue obnoxious laughter)

"I think I'll take her outside." I heard him say before laughing rather stiffly. What's he up to?

I was still sitting by the pieced of glass when I heard his soft footfalls behind me. I whimpered when his warm, dry hands made contact with my clammy skin, expecting to be man-handled again. But his touch was exceedingly gentle when he helped me to my feet.

"Let's go!" he snarled loudly before leaning closer to me and whispering "pretend like I'm throwing you around a lot." I jerked myself around to follow him to the back door, tripping every once in awhile for effect. He opened the door, shoved me out, then slammed it behind him. Then he dropped the act and rushed over to help me gingerly to my feet.

"I'm so sorry. Are you ok, Max?" he asked, genuine concern showing in his dark brown eyes. I brushed at the grass stains on my knees, but only managed to smear them with blood and shove the shards of glass deeper into my palms. Lifting them up to look again, I saw that more blood was swelling up and around the glass. Shit, those are going to be a bitch to get out.

"I'm fine, can I go now?" I whispered. He nodded and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I'll make something up to tell them. GO quickly though, so they can't catch up-" but I was already too far away to hear the rest of that statement. I sprinted as fast as I could, never even looking back. I ran all the way back to the little convenience store, but it was closed. I turned and took off again, my chest heaving from the effort of running for so long. The adrenaline hadn't worn off yet, so I couldn't really feel any pain or exhaustion. Just more of an intense panic feeling. I ran and ran and ran until I got to the one place I could feel safe in at a time like this:

Fang's House.

It started raining as I ran up the driveway and swerved around his mom's beaten up little car. I rang the door bell then knocked softly, wincing slightly when the glass was driven further still into the flesh of my hands. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a slightly tired-looking Fang.

"Max?" he asked, looking puzzled and surprised.

"Hey, Fang." I murmured, then felt my composure melt into a puddle around my feet. A slight pressure started in my lungs and worked it's way through my throat, making a terrible, terrible sobbing sound escape through my open mouth. Tear started flowing freely down my face. We stepped together at the same time, into each other's arms. I sobbed into the crook of his neck while my glass-impaled hands gripped mindlessly at the back of his soft, cotton t-shirt. His hands moved soothingly over my tangled, blood matted hair and down my hot, feverish back, which was shaking from the power of my cries. Fang slowly moved us inside and shut the heavy wooden door with a muted "click".

I know I'm supposed to be strong. I know I'm not supposed to cry. But sometimes, you just have to. I've kept it bottle up for so long that it was eventually going to just explode out of me. I wasn't crying from the pain. Hell no. I can endure physical pain. The beating those bastards gave me wasn't half as bad as what my low-life father used to do to me. I'm just so, so tired. Tired of being afraid, of being alone, of being sad.

I clung to Fang and sighed into his shoulder, relieved to finally feel safe, even if only for a moment…

**A/N So...can i come out of hidin now? Or are there still angry readers out there who have rotten tomatoes? (tomatos or tomatoes?) anyways, can i get like, at least ten reviews for this chapter? please? even though you all probably hate me and want me to die? (but just remember: you kill the author, you never know how the story ends...it's the only thing that has kept me from killing off James patterson for making Fang leave. i must...know...ENDING!)**


	6. Important Author's Note!

**A/N Ok, so I know that I have been sorely lacking in updates. I apologize a thousand times over for that. But there is a reason. It might not be a good one, BUT THERE IS STILL A REASON! *cough* sorry about that. But there really is a reason.**

**I have been working on an original book. Hopefully. Maybe. Ok, so it's unlikely that I will be published, but a girl can dream right? **

**Anyways, that's why the stories haven't been updated, and when they are the chapters usually aren't very good. But I have been working very hard on this plot line. It's unlike anything I've ever done before. Once I get the whole story line worked out, I will post the summary on here. Maybe you guys could give your opinions? **


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